It’s Thanksgiving in my corner of the world. I went for a long weekend walk. I am truly thankful for living so close to nature and having friends who want to get out and enjoy it. The only wildlife we came across were birds — we had a raven swoop right in front of our heads. My friend introduced me to the Merlin app from the Cornell Lab. You don’t realize how many birds you’re hearing and how many different ones until you really stop to listen.
I could totally become a birder in my old age. Like now. Except for getting up early to spot rare birds. Any other people fascinated by birds?
I couldn’t get any photos of birds but here’s evidence of how fortunate I am:
I also managed to make a dairy and egg free version of my mom’s pumpkin carrot pie. She didn’t remember this, but she told us it was pumpkin pie when we were young. It ruined actual pumpkin pie for me — it’s so much better.
Writing update
There’s not much of a change here. I mean there is — I’ve been spending a lot of time at the local university library which helping get words onto digital paper — but the result of that is ‘book 4 of the Lyra Cycle is in progress’. It’s just more progressed than last time.
What I’ve been reading … and watching … and listening to
I recently listened to the speleology (caves) episode of Ologies. The guest made an offhand reference to the rescue of the Thai soccer players who were trapped in a flooding cave years ago … which led me to the documentary The Rescue. I have vague memories of the event but I had not idea (spoiler alert) that they had to drug the kids and drag them out. It’s amazing that all the kids and their coach survived.
I finished two of the three books I took out from the library that touched on The Plague. Am I strange for my fascination about the impact of that that we still feel today? The third book looks interesting too but I needed to move on.
After reading about The Plague, I moved onto Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. It’s lovely so far. It reminds me in some ways of TJ Klune’s books.
Books for your TBR shelf
If you’re looking for more books for your to-be-read shelf, check out some of these free ones. I can definitely recommend Day 115 on an Alien World by my Armchair Alien co-conspirator, and I have Archangel Down on my list. Though The Curse of the Worlds sounds fascinating as well.
Happy reading!
— CR
Where to find my books
If you’d like to read any of my sci-fi or urban fantasy books, you can find them at your favourite online retailers. Or you can buy them direct from me on the Armchair Alien store.
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